Wheel Wobble Or Gearbox Fault

[IanCornwall]

I have been chasing what I thought was a wheel wobble, had all the wheels balanced on and off the car and it is still there

I was there when the wheels were balanced and they seem silky smooth, but (didn't you just know there was a but coming) when I drive the car and am going along lovely and smooth I get to a point where I can tell the engine is smooth, and i get a vibration through the steering

It appears randomly between 55 and 65 MPH and here is the fun part, if I keep the speed constant and drop it out of overdrive button mode, it dissapears and all is silky smooth again

It only seems to happen on light tickling the throttle driving, the slightest acceleration and it dissapears again

It has all the symptons of wheel wobble when it happens, but it dissapears as soon as the revs change

I have looked at the gearbox oil, and I note from other threads this should be red, it isn't bright red but more a darkish red, could this mean its a change of oil due, the oil isnt brown or black or smelly burnt

Do you think I should change the tranny oil ? or is the fault elsewhere, and where do I drain the oil from and how much of the special Toyota Oil do I need, and is there a transmission filter ?

Thanks

[P4UL T]

Sorry I cant answer your question Ian

But,

Try here for the DIY info on tranny oil change

http://lexusmodz.netfirms.com/

[Searcher]

Balancing problems would come between 60-75mph beyond that speed it would ease off. It does not sound like a balancing problem. I work in the tyre trade so you are right, it definately is not balancing.

My friend has a C-class Merc (I KNOW HE SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A LEXUS!) and he had the same problem. We did the balancing, changed the tyres, fitted standard rims, rims with different tyres but still no matter what we did, it allways had the same fault!

So his vibration used to come between 44mph to 47mph VERY STRANGE in the end we spoke to many mechanics, found out that the car had a PROP-SHAFT like many others, but it actually needed weight adding to it, the PROP-SHAFT NEEDED BALANCING we sent the prop-shaft off within 3 days got it back, put it on and PERFECT,NO Vibration!!!!

I hope this helps you out, but to be honest im not sure wheather all Lexus's have PROP-SHAFTS, some cars dont.

Kind regards Searcher.

[chips229]

Hi,

How long has the problem been happening,all the time youve owned the car or just lately?

Has any work been done on the car lately?

Has the car hit any potholes or driven over anything?

Does the vibration come just through the steering wheel or through the whole of the car?

Is the vibration worse if the car is loaded with people eg more weight in the car.

Id say a UJ on the propshaft is worn or the prop is slightly out of balance.

Chips.

[IanCornwall]

I havent had the car long , just a few months, before that for a few years the owner was overseas and the car hardly moved

Since I had the car, I have done some simple jobs, plugs, throttle body etc and had a problem with pressure in the coolant due to a blocked inlet to the expansion tank

All very minor really and down to the car being stood ages

I seemed to have a wheel wobble develop and have had the wheels balanced on and off the car and they are ace

The fault has only been apparent in the last week or so, steady throttle and it seems to just vibrate, similar feel to a wheel wobble but it isnt, drop a gear and it dissapears or increase speed it dissapears

feels to me like a hesitation in drive more than a balance

Had 4 in the car tonight and exactly the same as if just me

I am off tomorrow to get some Toyota gearbox oil and give it a progressive oil change and see if that cures it at the weekend, however any more tips are welcome

[IanCornwall]

I asked for price of the right tranny oil from my local Toyota dealer

5 litre can from Toyota for £38.63 + VAT or £45.39 including

Is that about right for the oil or am I getting ripped off / getting a bargain ?

[IanCornwall]

I have looked at the streams on changing the gearbox tranny oil and they seem to all tell me that I need to drain a bit, fill a bit, drain a bit fill a bit until the oil is changed, that's fine but no doubt will take hours and even then I am bound to have quite a bit of the old oil left in there

I have one of my cunning plans,,,, I did this with a Mazda Auto ages ago,,,,,,,Has anyone ot any suggestions on how this could work or would work on a GS300

Could I not simply disconnect the oil cooler feed and run the engine and collect the oil in a tub or can, when I have a few litres simply refil the gearbox with the same amount, run it again refill and so on

when the oil runs red I simply can connect the cooler pipe back up again

anyone see any flaw in this cunning plan ?

[maneesh]

Ian,

It could be the transmission mount, it's basically a rubber insulator that absorbs the vibration from the gearbox, after a certain amount of time, it splits, and allows the gearbox to sink a little bit and introduce vibration into the car. 15 minutes to take off (4 bolts I believe) and an easy check.

Could also be the engine mounts? They again split with age, but are quite expensive to get done.

Regarding the tranny fluid change, I would recommend flushing the tranny several times, as a simple drain and fill can actually introduce all kinds of gunk into the box. I'm not sure if you can change the tranny filter at the same time.

HTH

[eXOBeX]

15 minutes to take off (4 bolts I believe).

As long as they're not like the 4 bolts on Maneesh's exhaust pipes, that is!

[blackrat300]

Hi

my gs300 has a speed related vibration which i investigated using the info on this site.....it turns out that both my fount wheels have flat spots!!!

i have only had the car a fews weeks and when i bought it it had 4 brand new 245/45/18s on.

So have a look at the inner rim by spinning the wheel. The damage on my wheels was not visable from the outer rim.

Hope this helps

Steve

[Keith Bowler]

Ian

I had a similar problem with front wheels. Had them balanced at least twice to try and solve a vibration problem but when braking rather than when accelerating.

I then had wheels taken off and refitted with nuts put on in the correct sequence and properly torqued and I have not experienced any further problem.

Yours does however sound like a transmission matter. A fluid change usually cures some ills. I can't speak for the Lexus but I have the gearbox oil replaced regularly on my Honda powered Rover 827 and it seems to have benefits.

[IanCornwall]

Since I changed the head gasket, guess what, the vibration has dissapeared

Strange things happening inside the engine I reckon it at a certain revs the engine went into a vibration mode, and started shuddering itself by causing a harmonic resonance in the car

Since the head gasket all has been well, I haven't had a problem, I have even tried to cause the vibration by holding at a speed where it was before and thankfully nothing happens

It is really nice having a car that actually runs as it should for a change